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Disturbed by the spate of increase in road traffic accidents especially within the West African Region, the Federal Road Safety Commission has initiated plans for the inauguration of the West African Road Safety Organization.
Making this disclosure at the Executives Committee Meeting of the African Regional Group of the International Road Safety Organization, the Corps Marshal and Chief Executive, FRSC and President of the African Sub-Regional Road Safety Organization, Osita Chidoka stated that series of consultations with counterparts Agencies and other West African Countries, have taken place to fine tune strategies for the take-off of the West African Road Safety Body.
According to the Corps Marshal, the Executive meeting provided a plat form to make public, his presentation at the last meeting of the International Road Safety Organization at Portugal on action plans to reposition the restructured African sub-group of the International Body.
At the meeting which was attended by delegates from Ghana, Togo Cot d’ivoire and Sierra Leone, plans were also initiated to revive the annual end-of-year ECOWAS Road Safety Campaigns to adopt uniform strategies towards addressing usual traffic peculiarities associated with upsurge in trans regional human and vehicular movement during the Ember season.
Declaring the meeting open, the President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Dr. Mohammed Ibu Chambers commended the timely introduction of common strategies by West African Countries on Road Safety in view of global statistics on road carnage which puts annual deaths resulting from auto crash at 1.2million persons.
According to Dr. Chambers, global reports on road traffic accident trends underscores the need for practicable and result-oriented strategies in combating the menace of road carnage in the African continent.
He therefore urged African Countries to give priority attention to road infrastructure, road users and vehicle condition in order to make the desired impact on Road Safety Management.
In the same vein, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Ambassador Babagana Kingibe emphasized the importance of functional road infrastructure to ensure safety on the roads.
Kingibe whose speech was presented by the Permanent Secretary, Special Duties in the office of the SGF, Professor Simon Ogamdi urged delegates to the meeting and other Stakeholders in road safety to give maximum support to the on-going drive to re-address the menace of road carnage within the African sub-region.
Part of the resolutions at the meeting was the need to pursue the formation of a strong and coherent Regional Group that can evolve contemporary solutions to common road safety challenges plaguing individual member Countries of the Regional Road Safety Organization.
Meanwhile, the formal inauguration of the West African Road Safety Organization has been slated for November, 2007 in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja
Compiled by:
Ohaeri Osondu. J.
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